Features of growing a columnar apple of the Amber Necklace variety

Description of the variety

Apples “Amber Necklace” reach removable ripeness in September, but consumer demand for fruits begins only after 1–2 months, so the variety is called winter. A distinctive characteristic of this apple tree is its high winter hardiness (it is successfully grown even in Siberia), as well as good yield (15–20 kg per tree). And this is all despite the fact that this columnar apple tree belongs to semi-dwarf trees - its height is only 2–2.5 m.

As already mentioned, the crown of the tree is columnar - the branches depart from the trunk at an acute angle, and rush upward. The trunk is thickened, the main and lateral branches are shortened, sometimes replaced by annelids. The bark is smooth, gray-brown. Leaves are glossy, intense green, with small notches along the edge. The flowers are white, large, saucer-shaped. The fruits in full ripeness have a beautiful yellow-amber color, for which, apparently, the variety received such a beautiful name.

The apple tree is self-fertile - for its pollination, another variety is needed, with the same flowering period. Fruiting occurs quite early - the next year after planting, however, at this time, the development of ovaries should not be allowed, since the tree must first get stronger.Normal fruiting begins at the age of 4–5, and after a couple of years, the yield becomes stable at a level of at least 15 kg per tree. On the apple tree, the fruits are evenly distributed, which makes harvesting easier.

Fruit characteristics

Apples of this variety are of medium and above average size (140-180 g), but provided that there are few ovaries on the tree, they can grow up to 300 g. The shape of the fruit is regular, round, slightly flattened. The rind is very dense, but thin, has a greenish-yellow color with a slight blush on one side or at the stalk. When ripe, the apples take on a delicious golden yellow color.

The pulp of the fruit is snow-white, very juicy and crunchy, with a sweet dessert taste. According to some gardeners, “Amber Necklace” apples can remain on the branches for a long time and not fall off, and in this case the pulp becomes literally transparent and sweeter than during normal ripening in boxes. The fruits have an excellent presentation and a long storage period - more than 5 months, but in good conditions they are safely stored almost until the end of spring.

Advantages and disadvantages

It should be said that any columnar apple tree has clear advantages over trees with a regular crown, which we will talk about later.

The compactness of the crown. It is recommended to plant apple trees of this variety at a distance of 0.5 meters from each other and 1 m between rows. Such a planting significantly saves the useful area of ​​the garden, since dozens of columnar trees can be planted in the place of one ordinary apple tree.In addition, the tree can be planted on any empty piece of land without worrying that it will create shade for other plants.

Easy to care for. The absence of a crown makes it much easier to care for the tree. It is easier to spray, fertilize, loosen the soil, harvest (no ladder required). Such an apple tree practically does not need pruning, and not so much foliage falls from it in the fall as from an ordinary tree.

Early and intense fruiting. An apple tree of this variety begins to bear fruit 2-3 years after planting (provided that the seedling was 1 year old), but often in nurseries you can find a one-year-old seedling, which already has several ovaries.

High productivity. If we compare the yield of one ordinary apple tree with a columnar one, then the yield of the first, of course, will be greater. But if you take into account that many columnar apple trees can be planted in the garden area, and besides, you can choose varieties with different ripening periods, then the yield will increase many times.

Decorative qualities. The columnar apple tree looks more well-groomed, it is beautiful during its flowering period, and especially during the fruiting period. Such a tree will decorate any garden both in group plantings and in single ones. Some designers even practice planting such apple trees in the center of the landscape composition.

Excellent taste. As already mentioned, the fruits of the "Necklace" apple tree have an excellent taste, and they can be consumed fresh all winter and even in spring.

As for the shortcomings, they also exist - this is a rather high cost of seedlings and a relatively short fruiting period (15–20 years). From about 10 years of age, the yield of the tree begins to decline, and after another 5-7 years the apple tree will have to be replaced.

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The subtleties of growing

In order for the columnar apple tree to be healthy and bring high yields as long as possible, it is necessary to properly care for it. The main and most important stage in the care of the Ozherelye variety is the normalization of the harvest. The tree is prone to the formation of a large number of ovaries, which are almost impossible to bring to full maturity.

In the first year after planting, all flowers should be removed from the tree so that it does not waste energy on ripening the fruits. In the second year, you can leave 5-10 fruits, and from 3-4 years you can count on harvesting.

The normalization process is carried out during flowering, and then again, during the growth of the ovary. Since the tree blooms very abundantly, you can safely remove half of the flowers, leaving 2 bunches on each ringlet. When the ovaries appear on the apple tree, it is necessary to remove again about half of the weakest and smallest ovaries. If you want to achieve really incredible apple sizes (200-300 g), then you can leave no more than 1-2 large fruits in one link, and remove the rest.

Since the roots of this apple tree are located close to the surface, and loosening it is contraindicated, the only way to maintain the health of the root system and the entire tree is tinning - sowing grass in near-stem circles. This event makes it easier to care for the tree, the main thing is to mow the grass in time. On top of such a lawn, you can irrigate, apply fertilizers. As for watering, this variety prefers drip irrigation, as well as sprinkling about once every 3 days in summer.

Apple trees are fed 3-4 times per season: the first feeding at the end of April (urea 20 g / 1 sq. M.), The second - before flowering (liquid mullein 1 kg / 10 l of water), the third - in summer, during the 200 g / 1 sq. M.). In the fall, 5 kg / 1 square meter of humus is embedded in the near-trunk circles. In rare cases, lateral shoots develop on the apple tree - this can happen if the tree is ill. In this case, pruning of the resulting shoots to a length of 15–20 cm is required.Since the growth of the tree depends on the apical bud, care must be taken to ensure that it is not damaged.

Diseases and pests

Columnar varieties are considered to be more adapted to various diseases. For example, such an apple tree is less likely to be affected by a fungus, since its crown does not create a shadow and stagnation of moisture. In particular, the Ozherelye variety is considered very scab resistant and moderately resistant to powdery mildew. However, the tree is exposed to other diseases (black or common cancer, mosaic, rust, viral spotting) quite often.

Many gardeners in early spring and autumn treat apple trees with Bordeaux liquid for prevention, and, as a rule, this is enough to prevent the plant from getting sick. But if, nevertheless, the tree has undergone a disease, then it must be sprayed with fungicides ("Nitrafen", copper or iron vitriol).

Variety Necklace is not very often exposed to the invasion of pests. This can be evidenced by even, one-to-one, bulk fruits, which are almost never damaged. Fruit moths, various leaf rollers, apple moths, sawflies, suckers and other butterflies and caterpillars are quite rare guests of this apple tree. The only pest that has been seen on trees is aphids.

To get rid of insects, treatment with a urea solution, insecticides (Karbofos, Chlorofos, Iskra, Decis) is recommended, however, such measures are necessary if the columns of these microscopic insects have multiplied throughout the tree. With a small localization, the problem is solved using the same Bordeaux liquid or folk remedies: a solution of laundry soap (40 g) with tobacco (500 g), yarrow (700-800 g), or ash (3 glasses). Crushed soap and one of the above components are poured into 10 liters of warm water, infused for 2-3 days, after which the trees are sprayed with the solution.

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